GMG returns to profit, boosted by digital growth

GMG returned to profit in 2012/13, in a year that saw significantly reduced losses in the flagship Guardian News & Media business. Digital revenues at the Guardian and Observer increased sharply to £56m, with an online audience of 78.3m in March 2013, up from 67.8m the previous year. The Group ended the year with a cash and investment fund balance of £253.7m, up 12% on 2011/12.

Dame Amelia Fawcett DBE,chair, Guardian Media Group

Last year, I wrote that the question of how to secure a sustainable future for quality journalism was something to which no-one had yet found a definitive answer.

While that remains true, I believe that the real progress GMG has made over the last twelve months gives us increased confidence that we are heading positively...Continue readingContinue reading

EBITA for 2011 and 2012 has been restated to exclude GMG Radio

Profit before tax for 2011 and 2012 has been restated to exclude GMG Radio

GNM revenue & digital revenue for 2011, 2012 and 2013 has been restated to exclude Kable

Dame Amelia Fawcett, DBE, chair, Guardian Media Group

Last year, I wrote that the question of how to secure a sustainable future for quality journalism was something to which no-one had yet found a definitive answer.

While that remains true, I believe that the real progress GMG has made over the last twelve months gives us increased confidence that we are heading positively and confidently in the right direction.

Most striking and most encouraging has been the continued strong growth in digital revenues, which significantly exceeded the decline in print revenues.

At Group level, we were pleased to convert last year’s loss into a profit before tax, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also improved. This is due in no small part to the contribution of our transformation plan, as we continue to map our way towards the digital future.

At Guardian News & Media (GNM), the programme to reduce losses to a sustainable level over a five-year period remains on track, with a significant reduction in operating losses in 2012/13. The programme combines investment in the digital future with a targeted reduction in the cost base. This has meant some very difficult decisions, particularly on staffing levels. It is vital however, to press ahead with these measures if we are to complete the transformation of the business and so secure the future for the company, for the talented people who work here and for the principles on which the organisation stands.

Our investment fund, which is an important plank underpinning our ability to finance our transformation, performed well, with a value of £154.8m at the end of the year. Cash assets of £98.9m meant that the total of the investment fund plus cash balance was £253.7m, up £27.9m on the year. Our investment in our portfolio companies, Trader Media Group and Top Right Group, is also key to our future development, and these companies continue successfully to adapt to the radical technological and market changes in our sector.

During the year, we saw a number of changes on the Board. Following his appointment as CEO of Trinity Mirror plc, Simon Fox stepped down from the Board. The Board and I benefited greatly from his input and advice, and we wish him well. We welcomed to the Board three new non-executive directors: Ronan Dunne, CEO of Telefonica UK, Nigel Morris, CEO of Aegis Media Americas and Aegis Media EMEA, and John Paton, CEO of Digital First Media in the US. We are delighted to have the contribution of their significant experience and insight.

I have been fortunate to chair the GMG Board at a time of unprecedented change and challenge in our industry, and have been extraordinarily impressed by the way in which our businesses have responded. We have led the way in embracing digital and are reaping the rewards in our journalism – which enjoyed another outstanding year – and in our commercial operations. Our approach to open journalism encapsulates the principles of The Scott Trust and transforms them into an ethos relevant for the 21st Century.

I announced earlier this year that I will shortly be stepping down as chair. Thanks to the hard work of the executive team and the Board, the necessary business transformation is ahead of schedule, and I felt now was the right time to bring in a new chairman with the skills to ensure GMG flourishes in the new digital age. That is why I particularly welcome the appointment of Neil Berkett as my successor. There are still many challenges ahead, but GMG is in a strong position to face them. I know that, with the support of its exceptionally talented and dedicated people at all levels, it will succeed and take its rightful place as a world-leading media organisation.

EBITA for 2011 and 2012 has been restated to exclude GMG Radio

Profit before tax for 2011 and 2012 has been restated to exclude GMG Radio

GNM revenue & digital revenue for 2011, 2012 and 2013 has been restated to exclude Kable

A truly global news organisation

Andrew Miller, CEO, Guardian Media Group

When the Manchester Guardian launched on 5 May 1821, it had 1,000 readers, was published weekly and ran to just four pages. Our scale may have changed, but our values remain the same. Today the Guardian has more than 40 million readers globally, is the third most-read English-language newspaper...Continue readingContinue reading

Guardian US

The Guardian’s digital journey and its commitment to becoming a leading global news brand was taken a step further by the 2011 launch of Guardian US: a dedicated homepage - guardiannews.com - edited from New York, with a bureau in DC and correspondents in LA...Continue readingContinue reading

Guardian Australia

The Guardian continued its global expansion in May 2013 by launching a new digital edition, Guardian Australia - guardian.co.uk/australia - offering a similarly fresh perspective on Australia and the world.

theguardian .com

Having recently announced its intention to take the next step on its bold digital journey, later this year the Guardian will move all of its global online properties...Continue readingContinue reading

Global strategy

Andrew Miller, CEO, Guardian Media Group

When the Manchester Guardian launched on 5 May 1821, it had 1,000 readers, was published weekly and ran to just four pages. Our scale may have changed, but our values remain the same. Today the Guardian has more than 40 million readers globally, is the third most-read English-language newspaper website in the world, and is on its way to becoming a truly international media organisation.

Our transformation began with an early move to establish a digital presence over 15 years ago. A series of sustained journalistic and digital innovations, including the launch of a digital-first strategy two years ago, has allowed us to grow our audience rapidly, both in the UK and across the rest of the world, showing a clear global appetite for our views and content.

To achieve and fund this ambition the Group requires a continued strong performance of its investments, plus strong management of GNM. In this year the Group’s investments in our portfolio companies – Trader Media Group and Top Right Group – plus the combined cash and investment fund continued to perform well. The contribution of TMG and TRG amounted to £73 million in the year, while our investment fund and cash reserves have grown significantly to £253.7m, due in part to the sale of GMG Radio at the beginning of the year. Their collective performance provides vital headroom to allow the newspapers to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by digital and to develop the Guardian brand on a global scale.

In GNM the continued investment in digital innovation has ensured that digital revenues have offset the decline in print. Digital revenues now total £55.9m, an increase of 29% in 12 months. This, combined with ongoing efficiencies, has ensured that losses have fallen from £(44.2)m to £(30.9)m. This is significantly better than the targets we set in our five-year transformation plan two years ago, meaning we remain confident that we are on course to place the Guardian on a sustainable financial footing.

With the launch of Guardian US in 2011 and Guardian Australia in 2013, the Guardian has become a truly international news organisation, with a squad of 40 international correspondents, from China to the Middle East, India to west Africa, together with large reporting teams in London, New York and Sydney. As we have seen so spectacularly in recent months, having a powerful global brand – underpinned by financial stability, a unique ownership structure and strong editorial values – means we are well placed to ensure a long-term, commercially credible future for Guardian journalism.

Guardian US

The Guardian’s digital journey and its commitment to becoming a leading global news brand was taken a step further by the 2011 launch of Guardian US: a dedicated homepage - guardiannews.com - edited from New York, with a bureau in DC and correspondents in LA and Chicago covers American news for an online, international audience.

The venture – headed up by Janine Gibson, formerly editor of guardian.co.uk - distills the Guardian’s values and combines the innovation and energy of a start-up with our groundbreaking journalism, and the full heritage and backing of the Guardian brand.

Since the office opened in 2011, the US based staff has grown to a total of 57 employees, 29 of them working on editorial content. High profile hires such as Glenn Greenwald, Heidi Moore and Spencer Ackerman have helped build an internationally-renowned team, which includes talent from both sides of the Atlantic.

Figures show US traffic has grown 38% year-on-year, to more than 13 million unique visitors (comScore May 2013), a record for the US since the launch in September 2011. The figure marks the fourth traffic record in the past six months. The day after the Guardian published the video where Edward Snowden revealed his identity, the Guardian saw its highest traffic day ever with 6.97 million unique browsers; its highest traffic day in the US with 2.57 million unique browsers and globally over 20m page views for the first time ever (source: Omniture Site Catalyst).

The article in which Edward Snowden revealed himself became the most popular article ever on the Guardian’s website.

Breaking the Edward Snowden and NSA leaks stories, Guardian US has truly set the global news agenda, cementing its important position in the US media market.

Guardian Australia

The Guardian continued its global expansion in May 2013 by launching a new digital edition, Guardian Australia - guardian.co.uk/australia - offering a similarly fresh perspective on Australia and the world.

Led by Katharine Viner and edited from Sydney, Guardian Australia launched with an exclusive interview with Julia Gillard, who was then Australian Prime Minister, as well as a unique interactive feature on the destructive Tasmanian bushfires.

Guardian Australia combines some of the best writers in Australia with the best writers across the world. The team includes leading political writers Lenore Taylor, Katharine Murphy, Greg Jericho and Simon Jackman, as well as talented Australian reporters, such as the award-winning David Marr.

theguardian.com

Having recently announced its intention to take the next step on its bold digital journey, later this year the Guardian will move all of its global online properties to a new home - theguardian.com.

This may seem like a small URL change but it marks a big step for the Guardian and reflects its evolution from a much-respected national print newspaper based only in the UK - reaching hundreds of thousands of people once a day - to a leading global news and media brand, with offices around the world, and an ever-growing worldwide audience accessing Guardian journalism every minute of every day.

The move to theguardian.com will strengthen the Guardian's global presence and is a loud signal of its status as a leading digital news provider and of the breadth and depth of its content.

For the millions of Guardian readers all over the world, across all timezones, this move will streamline several domains into one core destination for all digital content.

Investing in digital is crucial to the future of journalism and publishing, and moving to theguardian.com will simplify the user experience for readers. In turn, this will open up further worldwide commercial possibilities in markets across the globe, enabling the Guardian to offer its partners and advertisers increased access to its growing global audience.

Fulfilling our legacy of independent, liberal journalism

Dame Liz Forgan DBE, chair, The Scott Trust Limited

The core purpose of The Scott Trust is to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity, enshrining CP Scott’s legacy of independent, liberal journalism.

By those criteria, 2012/13 was a year of real achievement. The newspapers took important steps along the path towards enduring financial sustainability. Our commitment to digital, supported by our ‘open’ approach to journalism, saw the Guardian enhance its reputation – and readership – on a global scale.Continue readingContinue reading

Police spies stole identities of dead children

The Guardian's reputation for investigative excellence continued with an exclusive story revealing that the Metropolitan police had stolen the identities of an estimated 80 dead children and issued fake passports in their names for use by undercover police officers.Continue reading

Edward Snowden reveals his identity on guardiannews.com

"There has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden's release of NSA material". The Guardian's revelations about the biggest intelligence leak in the NSA's history included an exclusive video interview with Snowden. The story fast became the single most-popular article ever on the Guardian website and led the global news agenda. Continue reading

Alex Lentati/SOLO Syndication

Living wage

The Observer's coverage of the living wage debate last year, sharing the stories of real workers affected by low rates of pay, embodied all that the world's oldest Sunday newspaper is renowned for - powerful campaigning journalism with a focus on social and equality issues. Continue reading

Fulfilling our legacy of independent, liberal journalism

Dame Liz Forgan DBE, chair, The Scott Trust Limited

The core purpose of The Scott Trust is to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity, enshrining CP Scott’s legacy of independent, liberal journalism.

By those criteria, 2012/13 was a year of real achievement. The newspapers took important steps along the path towards enduring financial sustainability. Our commitment to digital, supported by our ‘open’ approach to journalism, saw the Guardian enhance its reputation – and readership – on a global scale.

Editorially, the pace scarcely slackened following the momentous events of the previous year. The special position of the Guardian in the UK’s media firmament left it uniquely well placed to contribute to the Leveson and post-Leveson debate, both editorially and in terms of the negotiations on the future of press regulation in the UK. These are testing times for the newspaper industry, and a truly independent voice, free of the constraints and conflicts that are inevitable in large commercial media groups, has never been more important. Alan Rusbridger, as editor-in-chief, has fulfilled this role to perfection.

Guardian and Observer writers continue to break stories of national and international importance. The Guardian was the first newspaper to suggest that the now-notorious Newsnight programme on paedophilia allegations was a case of mistaken identity, setting in train one of the biggest crises ever faced by our national broadcaster.

The revelation that police stole the identities of dead children to provide fake identities for undercover work, allegations of abuse at Chetham’s School of Music and an exclusive about gas price manipulation are just a handful of the Guardian stories that reverberated on the national stage. Similarly, The Observer’s Living Wage campaign and the revelations of sexual abuse by Cardinal O’Brien, among many other stories, showed The Observer’s journalism to be in fine form.

In the US, the Guardian’s New York operation distinguished itself as an international editorial heavyweight with the extraordinary revelations following the biggest intelligence leak in the NSA’s history. The fact that the whistleblower Edward Snowden – a 29-year-old former technical contractor and CIA employee – chose to come to the Guardian commentator Glenn Greenwald speaks volumes about our worldwide reach and significance. The story dominated the global news agenda, with Snowden speaking exclusively to the Guardian in an interview to explain his motives. In a display of open journalism, Guardian readers were able to post questions to Snowden in a live chat on our website and via Twitter using the hashtag #AskSnowden.

During the year, the worldwide reach of Guardian online was strengthened by the announcement of the launch of our Australian edition. This is now a truly global, 24/7 news organisation, with all the journalistic, commercial and reputational benefits that brings.

Well before most of its competitors, the Guardian recognised the existential threat of the digital revolution. But we also saw the huge opportunities the new technology offered to expand and enrich our journalism and to involve our audience in deeper and different ways, provided that this challenge was approached in a truly integrated and innovative way. The success of the Guardian on a global stage bears witness to the wisdom of that vision. While many challenges lie ahead, the achievements of the last few years give the Trust every confidence that its core purpose is secure.

The future is open, digital, global

Michael Bowles/Rex Features

The Guardian's open journalism is a collaborative and interactive model of journalism that embraces the web's open and social ecosystem. It challenges the old model of readers as passive recipients of news. It welcomes response. It is responsive. It's a platform for everybody. It puts readers at the centre of the conversation and it's how our editors, writers and readers tell stories that give the whole picture.

A unique multimedia journey that tells the story behind the photograph shared around the world of the Holmes family hiding from a violent bushfire in Tasmania

Open journalism allows a response, it is responsive, it’s being part of the web - not just on it - and it provides a platform for everybody.Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media

Reaching more progressives than any other news provider

Combining the Guardian and Observer's open journalism with an innovative approach to product development engages a progressive audience in powerful new ways across GNM's multi-platform portfolio. Progressives are active consumers that engage with brands, are curious about the world around them and are highly connected in the digital world. GNM delivers more progressives to its partners and advertisers than any other quality news title in Great Britain and is one of the most-read English language newspaper websites in the world.

Learn about our award-winning Audience not Platforms planning tool, which helps advertisers reach our progressive audience more directly and connect with them more powerfully

Delivering 2.1m monthly unique browsers, Guardian Professional Networks provides direct access for sponsors and advertisers to a highly-engaged audience of professionals, including almost 400,000 registered members across 16 networks that span the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Putting the user at the heart of our product innovation

Based in the Guardian's offices in London, the UX Studio is a high-tech research and testing space that puts user testing at the heart of the Guardian. Invaluable insight and learning is incorporated into the product development strategy through the ability to watch how users interact with new and existing products, enabling agile product development and innovation, resulting in better user experiences and superior products for both audiences and advertisers.

Take a look around Guardian News & Media’s UX studio, a high-tech space for product research and testing.

Understanding the user is just part of creating relevant, engaging products and services for our audience. We will be able to be potentially braver and more innovative... I think it makes us better and more innovative vs the competitionDavid Pemsel, chief commercial officer, GNM

Commercially innovative brand partnerships

Guardian News & Media (GNM) delivers bold, creative and market-leading ways of working with brands that harness the power of compelling content to create bespoke campaigns for its partners. A reputation for digital innovation and a wealth of experience in producing groundbreaking interactive user experiences ensure GNM creates branded experiences that engage and activate the highly digital and social audiences across its portfolio.

Putting Blackberry at the heart of the festival experience

When Blackberry wanted to reposition itself as a credible and recognised music partner for music lovers, and establish its phones as a choice for users outside the business world, it came to the Guardian to co-create a campaign to put the brand at the heart of festivals and to contribute to the Guardian’s groundbreaking ‘open’ approach to music journalism.Continue readingContinue reading

Showing Zurich's expertise

Bringing America to life

A campaign that transformed crowdsourced travel journalism into inspirational interactive pieces, featuring ‘top ten’ guides compiled by US residents from truckers to taxi drivers, alongside ‘inside guides’ by celebrities such as Cerys Matthew’s guide to musical pilgrimages in Nashville.

America Uncovered - a partnership with Brand USA - demonstrates the ease of travelling through America to Guardian News & Media’s UK audience, showcasing the variety of destinations in the US, while inviting readers to help shape its stories with blogs, comments and via social media.

Putting Blackberry at the heart of the festival experience

When Blackberry wanted to reposition itself as a credible and recognised music partner for music lovers, and establish its phones as a choice for users outside the business world, it came to the Guardian to co-create a campaign to put the brand at the heart of festivals and to contribute to the Guardian’s groundbreaking ‘open’ approach to music journalism.

In 2012, the Blackberry-sponsored Guardian Festival Guide became an indispensable source of information for thousands of festival goers; while interactive journalism spaces, hosted by Blackberry at Womad, Camp Bestival and Bestival, enabled both brands to reach music lovers in their natural environments.

'Open' journalism powered by Blackberry, gave music fans the chance to connect with Guardian journalists, letting them upload their own photos, reviews and comments via a selection of showcased Blackberry devices; and a co-branded mobile festival mini-guide put listings, highlights weather forecasts and the latest tweets from Guardian and Observer critics directly into the palms of festival fans.

Demonstrating Zurich's expertise

Capturing and engaging the attention of independent consumers online was the challenge to demonstrate Zurich's expertise and ability to help people plan for and protect their future. This required a creative and informative approach to showcase the power of Zurich’s premium products.

In partnership with Mindshare and Zurich, the Guardian created the content-rich Life Navigator. This interactive web-based app drew on new and existing Guardian content and used bespoke visual infographics and informative animated videos to inform the audience and demonstrate the relevance of Zurich’s products at key events in their lives.

The app proved such a success that it is permanently hosted in the Guardian’s Money section.

GuardianWitness

GuardianWitness, an exciting and innovative partnership with EE, builds on the Guardian’s groundbreaking model of open journalism by crowdsourcing images, videos and stories from our readers around the world via a brand new platform and accompanying apps.

It is a fantastic example of a bold, creative and market-leading way that the Guardian is working together with brands. Creating new branded experiences for readers which are neither editorial nor advertorial, enabling full engagement with highly digital and social audiences, and to successfully respond to client needs.

Learn more about GuardianWitness, a new home for online and mobile content created by Guardian readers.

EE is really excited to be bringing the power of Superfast 4G mobile technology to the way people share news. GuardianWitness means anyone with a smartphone can spark a debate by posting news, images or videos. And with 4G it's instantaneous.Steven Day, chief of brands and communications, EE

#guardiancoffee

#guardiancoffee is a caffeine-infused pop-up destination in the heart of east London's creative technology community at Tech City UK at BOXPARK Shoreditch. The space brings the Guardian's groundbreaking open journalism to life through direct, real-time engagement with the people who are shaping the future of technology in London.

#guardiancoffee is open to all, providing both a front of house for the Guardian's technology editorial team and a space where readers can explore the Guardian's latest coverage, share ideas and opinions - or simply enjoy a great cup of coffee.

Head of technology Jemima Kiss introduces #guardiancoffee, a pop-up destination in the heart of east London's creative technology community at Tech City UK, BOXPARK Shoreditch.

#guardiancoffee is a fantastic example of a well-known brand combining with east London's heritage of creativity and innovation to invest in and engage with the community in new and unique ways. Joanna Shields, CEO Tech City and UK Business Ambassador for Digital Industries

#guardiancoffee

#guardiancoffee is a caffeine-infused pop-up destination in the heart of east London's creative technology community at Tech City UK at BOXPARK Shoreditch. The space brings the Guardian's groundbreaking open journalism to life through direct, real-time engagement with the people who are shaping the future of technology in London.

#guardiancoffee is open to all, providing both a front of house for the Guardian's technology editorial team and a space where readers can explore the Guardian's latest coverage, share ideas and opinions - or simply enjoy a great cup of coffee.

#guardiancoffee immerses visitors in the Guardian's unique approach to storytelling, bringing the brand to life through innovative interior design, digital interaction, and live data updating coffee-drinkers with real-time stats on what's being consumed.

The information contained in this website is not the company's statutory accounts. GMG's audited financial information can be viewed in the Report of the Directors and Financial Statements.